III.—THE DIVINE LIFE IN THE CHILD          “The very Pulse of the Machine.”—It is evident we have not yet reached                  “The very pulse of the machine.”Habits, feeling, reason, conscience—we have followed these into the inmost recesses of the child’s life; each acts upon the other, but what acts upon the last: what acts upon them all? “It is,” says a writer who has searched into the deep … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 6. Chapter 3

II.—THE CONSCIENCE           Conscience is Judge and Lawgiver.—But the will by no means carries on the government of the kingdom of Mansoul single-handed. True, the will wields the executive power; it is only by willing we are enabled to do; but there is a higher power behind, p.330 whose mandate the will does no more than express. Conscience sits supreme in the inner chamber. Conscience … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 6. Chapter 2

PART VI THE WILL.—THE CONSCIENCE—THE DIVINE LIFE IN THE CHILD I.—THE WILL Government of Mansoul.—We have now to consider a subject of unspeakable importance to every being called upon to sustain a reasonable life here, with the hope of the fuller life hereafter; I mean, the government of the kingdom of Mansoul. Every child who lives long enough in the world is invested, by degrees, … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 6. Chapter 1

XXI.—PICTORAL ART           Study of Pictures.—The art training of children should proceed on two lines. The six-year-old child should begin both to express himself and to appreciate, and his appreciation should be well in advance of his power to express what he sees or imagines. Therefore it is a lamentable thing when the appreciation of children is exercised only upon the coloured lithographs of their … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Chapter 21

XX.—FRENCH           French should be acquired as English is, not as a grammar, but as a living speech. To train the ear to distinguish and the lips to produce the French vocables is a valuable part of the education of the senses, and one which can hardly be undertaken too soon. Again, all educated persons should be able to speak p.301 French. Sir Lyon Playfair, … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Chapter 20

XIX.—GRAMMAR           Grammar a Difficult Study.—Of grammar, Latin and English, I shall say very little here. In the first place, grammar, being a study of words and not of things, is by no means attractive to the child, nor should he be hurried into it. English grammar, again, depending as it does on the position and logical connection of words, is peculiarly hard for him … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Ch 19

XVIII.—HISTORY           A Storehouse of Ideas.—Much that has been said about the teaching of geography applies equally to that of history. Here, too, is a subject which should be to the child an inexhaustible storehouse of ideas, should enrich the chambers of his House Beautiful with a thousand tableaux, pathetic and heroic,  and should form in him, insensibly, principles whereby he will hereafter judge of … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Ch 18

XVII.—GEOGRAPHY           Geography is, to my mind, a subject of high educational value; though not because it affords the means of scientific training. Geography does present its problems, and these of the most interesting, p.272 and does afford materials for classification; but it is physical geography only which falls within a compendium of the results of several sciences than a science itself. But the peculiar … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Ch 17

XVI.—NATURAL PHILOSOPHY             A Basis of Facts.—Of the teaching of Natural Philosophy, I will only remind the reader of what was said in an earlier chapter—that there is no part of a child’s education more important than that he should lay, by his own observation, a wide basis of facts towards scientific knowledge in the future. He must live hours daily in the open … Continue reading Home Education Volume 1 Pt 5. Ch 16